SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Three members of the Yellowjacket softball team were named to the all-conference first team when the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced its post-season awards in a release Monday.
 
Yellowjacket junior righthanded pitcher/infielder Tayler Kraemer (Spring Green, Wis./Wisconsin Heights), sophomore catcher/infielder Zoe Thomson (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) and freshman infielder Larissa Snyder (Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park) were named All-UMAC First Team in a vote of the conference's coaches.
 
In addition, Yellowjackets MyKenzie Leccia (Somerset, Wis./Somerset) and Ellie Macal (Winona, Minn./Cotter) received All-UMCA honorable mention.
 
For Kraemer, this is the third time she has been named All-UMAC First Team, having also received the award in 2021 and 2022. An all-around standout, Kraemer has gone 20-10 in the circle this year. She has struck out 147 hitters in 181 innings pitched. At the plate and on the basepaths Kraemer has been just as important to the Yellowjackets. Her .418 batting average is second among Yellowjackets and she leads the team in runs scored (49) and stolen bases (23). Kraemer was named either UMAC Player of the Week or UMAC Pitcher of the Week four times in 2023.
 
Thomson is the Yellowjackets' leading hitter in 2023, posting a .439 average to date. Starting all 42 games this season, Thomson has a team-best 61 hits while leading the team with five home runs and 54 runs batted in. She also owns the team's best slugging percentage of .619 and has 86 total bases. Thomson was named UMAC Player of the Week twice this season.
 
Snyder stepped into the Yellowjacket lineup and has been the starting shortstop from day one. In 38 games this season, Snyder has batted .359 with two home runs and 26 runs batted in. Of her 46 hits, 13 went for extra bases. She is second on the team with 16 stolen bases. In the field, Snyder had a .933 fielding percentage, making just 10 errors in 150 chances.
 
Leccia took over the starting center field job as a freshman and was a monster offensively and in the field. In 42 games, Leccia batted .417 with 14 extra-base hits. Covering wide swaths of ground in the outfield, Leccia posted a perfect fielding percentage in 65 chances.
 
In her second season as the starting catcher for the Yellowjackets, Macal hit .347 in 41 games, hitting two home runs and driving in 24. One of the best defensive catchers in the UMAC, Macal committed just four errors in 198 chances in the field.
 
The conference also announced its All-UMAC Defensive team, and the Yellowjackets have five players receive recognition. Macal (catcher) and Kraemer (pitcher) and Leccia (outfield) were joined by Cassie Bergman (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East) (second base) and Bryton Kukowski (Duluth, Minn./Hermantown) (third base).
 
Playing in 38 games at third, Kukowski committed just two errors and posted a fielding percentage of .981. Bergman, a transfer from UW-Stout, played 24 games and make just three errors in 61 chances in the field.
 
Camille Wikstrom (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown) was the UW-Superior representative on the UMAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
 
The Yellowjackets (31-11) have advanced to the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in program history after winning the UMAC tournament last weekend. They will face Concordia University Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Thursday in Oshkosh, Wis.